Who is Shammi? Hum Saath Saath Hai actress dies in Mumbai

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan took to Twitter to share the news of veteran actress Shammi passing away. Shammi, who has acted in popular TV shows and movies, died at the age of 87.

The reason for her death is unknown yet and it is also not revealed when she passed away. The news came to light only after Big B tweeted about it.

"Shammi Aunty .. prolific actress, years of contribution to the Industry, dear family friend .. passes away ..!! A long suffered illness, age .. Sad .. slowly slowly they all go away," Big B tweeted on Tuesday morning at around 9.15 am IST.

But who is Shammi? Here are a few things to know about the other "Shammi" of Bollywood.

The actress was born as Nargis Rabadi in a Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai). Her father passed away when she was just three years old and to earn for the living she started cooking with her mother at events organized by the Parsi community.

She had an elder sister Nina Rabadi, who was a fashion designer. After completing her studies, she worked at Johnson and Johnson and used to earn Rs 100 per month.

In 1949, she signed her first film Ustad Pedro and at that time she was just 18. Actor-producer Sheikh Mukhtar was looking for a second lead for his film. He met Shammi and liked her spirit. He hired her for the job but asked her to change the name as there was already a Nargis (Nargis Dutt) in the industry. Her name was changed to Shammi then.

While working on Ustad Pedro, she got the lead role in the film Malhar, which became known for the super-hit songs.

Shammi made a lot of friends in the industry, including Dilip Kumar, but Nargis became her best friend.

She got married in her 30s. She tied the knot with filmmaker Sultan Ahmed, but after seven years they parted ways. She did not have any children.

In her career spanning over six decades, Shammi worked in several movies, produced films and shows and even acted in popular television shows. She got appreciation for her roles in television shows, including Dekh Bhai Dekh, Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Shriman Shrimati, Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh and Filmi Chakkar.

She also played the role of a grandmother in several films, including Coolie No 1, Hum, Mardon Wali Baat, Gurudev, Gopi Kishan, Hum Saath-Saath Hain and Imtihaan, from 1990 to 2000.

Shammi made a comeback in 2013 with Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, starring Farah Khan and Boman Irani.